The substance class of glycerol alkoxylate esters and polyglycerol alkoxylate esters is known, and various applications for this substance class have been described. These include use as antifoams as disclosed in EP0809527 and EP0264826, as emulsifiers in emulsion polymerization as disclosed in DE10124547, as an ingredient of pesticide preparations as disclosed in WO 0108481, and use in the cosmetics sector as thickener, solubilizers, conditioners and refatting agents, as disclosed, for example, in DE3239564, DE19753108 and DE2024051. The corresponding glycerol ester ethoxylates are used on the market as standard refatting agents (e.g. PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate=TEGOSOFT GC) and thickeners (e.g. PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate=REWODERM LI S 80) in aqueous surfactant formulations.
The prior art also describes polyglycerol alkoxylate esters as thickeners of cosmetic rinse-off formulations: For instance, EP1344518 discloses cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations comprising an alkoxylated polyglycerol ester having a polymerization level of the polyglycerol of 1 to 30, with 50 to 250 alkoxy units per molecule, and EP1518900 discloses compositions comprising a) one or more alkoxylated polyglycerol esters having a polymerization level of the polyglycerol of 1.5 to 10, with 50 to 250 alkoxy units per molecule, b) an organic solvent or organic solvent mixture, and c) water.
In spite of a broad available range of thickeners for aqueous surfactant systems, there continues to be great interest on the market side in novel thickeners that are even more efficient. Specifically the provision of easily dosable and highly efficient thickeners offers considerable advantages to the user. Specifically the latter point makes it possible for the user to produce the same thickening effect with smaller amounts of active ingredient and hence conserve resources. The problem addressed by the present patent specification was thus that of providing novel, highly efficient and easily dosable thickeners.